An Irish consortium plans to invest EUR 150 million in a ski and spa resort in Bulgaria, the Irish Sunday Business Post reported on November 26.
The consortium intends to build a five star hotel, 1,000 apartments and a shopping center on a 25-acre site in Bulgarian ski region Bansko.
The property development site was sold for a mere EUR 1.5 million a year ago, but it was recently reevaluated at EUR 12 million according to the newspaper.
The resort will be developed by international company Lansdowne Real Estate and a local partner called Linexa Properties. Bulgarian developer Angel Lingorski and his brother Ilia Lingorski, formerly deputy minister of finance in Bulgaria, will be members of the management team overseeing the project.
The Bulgarian government recently announced that a new ski lift and 60 km of ski slopes would be built in Razlog, a town 5 km away from Bansko. This is just 350 meters away from the prospective development site of the Irish company.
The consortium bought the terrain a little over a year ago and applied to have it rezoned, as rumors that a new ski lift would be constructed surfaced. Invest Bulgaria agency made an announcement confirming this last week.
Lansdowne is drafting a document to raise EUR 20 million to develop the ski resort. The company has also invested in a plot in the Black Sea region and in one in Sofia, with areas of 500 acres and 110 acres respectively.
Linexa announced earlier this year that they were planning to invest EUR 20 million in a new resort complex on the Black Sea. The first stage of construction should be completed by July 2007.
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